Interview | Within Temptation lead guitarist Ruud Jolie – From playing guitar to writing a book

A unique look behind the scenes

,,I once showed Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter, Kelly, a pair of testicles. Not mine—that would’ve been inappropriate. Especially so, since her boyfriend was sitting beside her. I can hear you wondering, “Where the hell is this story going?”’’

This passage is from the book `In Spotlight and Shadow – My Road Trip with Within Temptation’, written by Ruud Jolie and will be released on September 1, 2025. Ruud Jolie has been the lead guitarist for Within Temptation for over 24 years, and with plenty of humor, self-deprecation, and candor, the Tilburg musician offers a glimpse into not only the success story of this Dutch symphonic metal band, but also the events behind the scenes. Ruud explains in detail to HeadBangers Lifestyle’s Liselotte `Lilo’ Hegt why he decided to write a book.

THE REASON

What was the reason you decided to write `In Spotlight and Shadow’?

,,I love reading biographies, especially about all sorts of people. But it’s always been a dream of mine to write a book. I just thought it would be cool, but not a biography about myself; I thought that was way too narcissistic. Besides, my life isn’t all that interesting. In the sense that I’ve never done drugs or lived under a bridge. My parents are still together and happily married. I haven’t experienced anything strange, no near-death experiences from too much alcohol or a hotel room being destroyed. So, in that sense, it would be a very thin book. But with Within Temptation, we’ve actually been thinking for ten years that when something funny happens, I always say, “Oh, that’s for the book later.” So, we’ve been talking about that for ten years, and then—I can elaborate on this now—I started having problems with my right hand. Look, my right hand is shaking, and I’m not doing it on purpose. My left hand is stable, and my right is anything but.’’

That’s quite a life-changing experience for you as a professional musician. What happened next?

,,To be honest, I’d been noticing some problems with my right hand for a while, but in October 2023, I really started experiencing clear symptoms and things suddenly accelerated. It turned out I had functional tremor. Playing guitar became difficult, so I hardly ever do that anymore. Except for on stage, performing with Within Temptation. As a creative person, I always want to do something, make things; I just love that. A house project, or exercising, volunteering, or creating something. Something, anyway, because when I lie on the couch in the evening watching Netflix, it’s a nice thought that I’ve done something positive that day. I also often sit in my chair daydreaming for half an hour, just staring into space.

At some point, I just started writing things down. Purely for fun, but also with the thought that if I ever get old and have dementia, I can reread it in my own book. And as with many things for me, that kind of thing gets out of hand.’’

THE CONTENT

What made you decide to take it seriously?

,,At one point, the Dutch promoter/concert booker and former music journalist Hans Verschoof came by. Hans said, “Hey, let me read something sometime, I like that.” He got really excited, and I decided to ask him to edit my book. To remove all the bullshit and fix some structural continuity issues. That’s when I started taking it all more seriously and really started thinking about the idea of just writing down funny anecdotes, instead of a life story. As a Within Temptation fan, I would love that too, a book with all sorts of inside information that’s nowhere to be found online. I’d definitely read a book like that in one sitting! I thought, “Yes, this is really something for me!” and the other Within Temptation members really enjoyed it too. I’m a huge Anthrax fan myself and, for example, I really enjoyed Scott Ian’s book “Access All Areas: Stories from a Hard Rock Life.” That was quite an inspiration, too.

Of course, my book is really great for the Within Temptation fan, but it can also be a lot of fun for the average music lover. It contains 32 anecdotes, stories from onstage, in the spotlight, but also in the shadows. So, when you step offstage from the spotlight back into the backstage area, into your dark dressing room. That’s usually where it happens, of course. There’s a lot of self-deprecating humor and lots of diarrhea stories. In the literal sense, so that’s always a good thing. I briefly considered calling the book “Diarrhea Diaries,” but I thought, no, no, that’s a bit too much. I did, however, title one chapter that way.

It also includes some 200 illustrative photos, all of which, with a few exceptions, have never appeared online before. Many of these come from our private collections, including some from our Nokia phones dating back to 2001.’’

Are you 100% open, or are there things you really don’t share?

,,No, I didn’t share everything, because it’s really easy to throw shit around. Things did happen within our band, but if I put that down on paper, I’d really have a falling out with people. So, I’m not doing that. It’s not fun, and I don’t see the point. The book isn’t just about the band, but also about the people around it, like tour managers, other bands we’ve played with, and the business side.

Bill Kelliher, the guitarist for Mastodon, once told me a secret. About how he got all his Star Wars figurines and merchandise, from fans. Well, I included that too. I don’t think he minded; I saw him recently and he didn’t say anything about it. But with certain anecdotes, I did check with the person in question to make sure it was okay.’’

THE GREATEST MYTH

What do you think is the biggest myth surrounding Within Temptation that you are dispelling with this book?

,,That life on the road has no inconveniences. That we travel in private jets and stay in five-star hotels. And that this life isn’t really work. People who don’t work in the music industry often think everything is rosy, when in reality, it’s far from it. We often say to each other: “So, we’re going on another trip with the foundation”, because that’s often how it feels. Only, yes, there are often physical ailments involved. And when you’ve been doing this for over 24 years, sometimes you just don’t feel like it.

The first chapter, for example, is about our first shows in Australia. How fantastic that was. But yeah, people do forget that it involves a seven-hour flight to Doha, Qatar, then another four-hour wait, and then another fourteen-hour flight to Melbourne. Once I arrived, I wasn’t very enthusiastic anymore. I was like, “Yes, we’re in Australia!” It was more like, “Fuck, shit, where’s my bed, man? I just want to sleep now.” That is often the myth.’’

Do you think people will be surprised and amazed by this book and might not have realized, for example, how big and successful Within Temptation actually is on an international scale?

,,The reactions I’ve gotten so far from people I’ve had read pieces of material have been: “Jesus, man, you’ve really been through a lot!”

That’s something I didn’t always realize or dwell on. You’re in a whirlpool, and then off we go to the next thing. Oh yeah, great, we’re going to Japan. And then to Australia, and oh yeah, also a quick trip to South America, and then playing with Iron Maiden in America, cool. Well, I did think about that for a while, by the way. That was quite something, because Iron Maiden is the reason I started playing electric guitar. I can proudly say that I’m pretty close to Steve Harris these days, something I could never have imagined as a 12-year-old kid. So, there are some things about that in the book too.’’

THE FOREWORD

Does it therefore make sense that Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris wrote the foreword?

,,The idea had been floating around in my head for a while, but how do you even ask? At one point, I was talking to a buddy of mine who’s really good friends with Steve. When I asked him if he thought Steve would be interested, he said, “Yeah, of course, man! He’s a fan of yours. He thinks you’re a cool guy and he does this kind of thing often, so just ask him.” In January, I spent four days at Steve’s house in the Bahamas, along with three friends, by personal invitation. That’s another thing. You’re sitting on Steve Harris’s couch, 37 years later. You don’t think of that as a 12-year-old, do you? While swimming in the ocean, I told him about my book. He was interested, and when he mentioned later that day that he’d written a foreword, I jumped at the chance.

Once home, I sent off a few chapters and a day later I had the foreword. I found that very inspiring and a tremendous honor.’’

THE AFTERWORD

Within Temptation singer Sharon den Adel has written an afterword. What does that mean to you?

,,It actually happened quite spontaneously, and her lyrics are beautiful and heartwarming. I think it’s really cool that she did this for me, and it even brought tears to my eyes. For me, it’s a beautiful ending to my book, especially since the last chapter deals with my health issues. Honestly, I found it difficult to write about it, and I initially did it on the advice of a friend, as therapy. Purely for my mental well-being, because I was severely depressed and anxious at the time. I’ll be honest, I simply can’t play guitar sober anymore. Alcohol is the only thing that helps me. Emotions and nerves amplify the vibrations, and in my case, ten times as much, so our other guitarist Stefan Helleblad took over certain guitar parts that trigger tension so I can keep going for as long as possible. I don’t really like building my professional life around alcohol either, but hey, if that’s the only thing that gets me through a show now… well, then an extra bottle of wine. And just to be clear: I didn’t write this chapter to arouse pity, but to make clear that this too is one of the dark sides.’’

THE BOOK PRESENTATION

Starting in September, you’ll be touring Dutch theaters and pop venues to present your book under the banner: “Ruud Jolie Speaks… Unfiltered.” What can we expect?

,,The idea is that a different interviewee will be invited each evening, and together we’ll engage in dialogue and conversation. But it could also be an in-depth interview. I’m not revealing who the guests will be yet, but they’ll be people from the industry. Not just musicians, but also people from politics, for example. It’s also quite possible that some evenings I’ll be all by myself. Of course, I’ll also read excerpts from my book, tell anecdotes, and there will be a Q&A and, of course, a book signing. Photos and videos will be shown during the performance, and it will last two 45-minute sessions in total. As far as I’m concerned, it’ll simply be a fun and lighthearted evening. It’s exciting, of course, because I’ve never done anything like this before, but above all, I’m really looking forward to it.’’

Do you have any dreams or other ambitions?

,,I’ve been able to do everything I dreamed of as a 12-year-old kid. Playing Madison Square Garden would be amazing, but we also have to be a bit realistic and, above all, be satisfied with everything we’ve experienced and achieved with the band. I’m very grateful for that. The great thing about the conversations I had with my bandmates leading up to this book was that all those memories came flooding back, like, “Do you remember that?” I’ve definitely forgotten a lot, but I think I’ve enjoyed it. Since my trip to the Bahamas, I’ve started making digital photo albums, and when I open one of those albums, I think, “Wow, that was really cool!”

If it ever comes to the point where I have to put my guitar down completely, I will, of course, miss it, but on the other hand, I also realize that everything is finite, and that also applies to Within Temptation. Moreover, during the lockdown I noticed that I was just as happy at home with my guitar at the kitchen table, with a glass of wine or beer and a YouTube video.’’

Header photo: Set Vexy